by Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964)

We bear velvet cream
Language: English 
"We bear velvet cream.
Green and babyish
Small leaves seem; each stream
Horses' tails that swish,

And the chimes remind
Us of sweet birds singing,
Like the Jangling bells,
On rose trees ringing.

Man must say farewells
To parents now,
And to William Tell
And to Mrs Cow.

Man must say farewells
To storks and Bettes,
And to roses, 'bells,
And statuettes,

Forests white and black
In spring are blue
With forget-me-nots,
And to lovers true

Still the sweet bird begs
And tries to cozen
Them:  -- Buy angels' eggs
Sold by the dozen. -- 

Gone are clouds like inns
On the gardens' brinks,
And the mountain  djinns,-
Ganymede sells drinks;

While the days seem grey,
And his heart of ice,
Grey as chamois, or
The edelweiss,

And the mountain streams
Like cowbells sound-
Tirra lirra, drowned
In the waiter's dreams

Who has gone beyond
The forest waves,
While his true and fond
Ones seek their graves."

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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):


Researcher for this page: Dan Eggleston

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 155